Because of Roger Worthington’s ties to Indie Hops, a company that makes pellets, and its experimental aroma hop program with Oregon State University, Worthy is the main brewery to test out these new varieties.

As Zach Brenneman, Worthy’s head brewer, explained, “They’re working on developing aroma hops that have good brewing qualities, are disease resistant, have high yields and vigor. We may brew with one that consumers really love that’s disease resistant, but doesn’t have good yield.”

It can take years to find a hop that meets all the criteria. Worthy’s 5-barrel pilot brewing system was created for this trial-and-error process. Until the hops prove themselves consistently over time, they are simply identified by number. Last year, Worthy’s team brewed up four pale ales using the experimental varietals 1007-35, C1002-37, G9-1-374 and C115L-1.

“We use a very basic pale ale malt profile and our standard house yeast for these beers,” Brenneman said. “We make the same base beer for each of these brews to focus on the hops we are using. The finished beer will be 5% ABV and in the 30-40 IBU range.”

They served tastings of the four beers at the Bend brewery and several locations in Portland. Brenneman was at Produce Row Café sampling. “In talking with consumers there, I was interested to see how deep some people wanted to dive into this,” he said.

Some of the comments from the tasting cards:“Would be good in a helles or kolsch.”“Nice if you are sick of the IPA trend.”“Super complex, but too assertive.”“Almost too mellow for a pale ale (like a lager with hop character).”“Not bad, just not my thing.”

More in-depth comments are solicited from tasters at Worthy. “Our panelists are given instructions on what we are looking for as we taste through each of the beers so that we can send back the best, most informative information about the breeding program hops we brewed with.”

Worthy’s head brewer Zach Brenneman stands next to some of the hops growing in the demonstration gardens outside the ever-expanding brewery and pub in Bend. He gets to work with experimental varieties developed by Oregon State University and Indie Hops. Photo by Patty Mamula

So far, the brightest star of the program, most grown on OSU’s research fields, is Strata, formerly known as X-331. “It has outrageous oil and it’s more in your face. Tasters note its distinct tropical fruit flavor and its dank fragrance similar to cannabis,” said Brenneman. However, Strata was a surprise hit, especially for brewers. In initial sensory evaluations and onsite rub and sniff comparisons, it didn’t stand out.

Worthy’s blog post about Strata said the following: “Until the harvest this fall, the supply of Strata IPA is limited. The 2016 harvest from 9 acres, grown at Goschie and Coleman Farms, was around 18,000 pounds. It was considered a ‘baby’ harvest, the first after the establishment year. The one this fall will be the first mature crop. Reports from the farm are that it’s vigorously growing and yields should be above the average of 2,000 pounds an acre last season. This spring, Indie Hops planted another 60 acres in the valley.”

Worthy’s StrataSphere IPA won a gold medal in the Sessionable Hoppy category at the 2017 Oregon Beer Awards. While it can take 10 years or more to develop a new successful genotype, this one was on an accelerated path of about six years. Strata is an open-pollinated hop, which means seeds that breed true, developed from a German Perle hop.

Strata IPA has been a consistent favorite at Worthy, with its sales often equal to those of the flagship Worthy IPA and in some weeks exceeding it. It’s available in draft only, but after the harvest plans are to package it in 22-ounce bottles.

This fall, Brenneman looks forward to getting a jump on brewing with the experimental hops and plans to dive right in after the fresh-hop beers are finished. He receives the chosen hops from Jim Solberg at Indie Hops in 2-pound foil sacks that have been bagged under gas. Ten pounds of whole-leaf hops are then used for pilot batches. “Our goal is to do a late kettle add and then dry hop in 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per barrel,” he said.

This year Brenneman wants to brew them in pairs — maybe even two on the same day. He would like to have eight experimental beers available during several months to have more options for consumers to taste and compare.

The goal is to keep brewing well-made, balanced beers and involving consumers who are invested in what might be the next new big hop as well as bring new genes into the hop pool. Close to 90 percent of the hops that Worthy uses are Indie Hops grown in Oregon.​You’ll actually find six rows of experimental hops at Worthy’s ever-expanding brewery and pub as part of its demonstration garden. Shaun Townsend, OSU aroma hop breeder who’s directing the hop development program, chose the varieties that would be planted in Bend. Although most of the test fields are in the Willamette Valley, researchers wanted to see how climate and pests would impact hops in Central Oregon.

Worthy recently opened this 50-foot tall observatory, named the Hopservatory for the hops that will be planted around its base and spiral up it. Photos by Patty Mamula

By Patty MamulaFor the Oregon Beer Growler

Roger Worthington, owner of Bend’s Worthy Brewing, seamlessly blends his interest in art, space, science, brewing, renewable growth and more with the newest addition to his business — a 50-foot tall observatory.

Named the Hopservatory, it’s on the southwest end of the ever-expanding pub. The Worthy Garden Club, showcasing hops and barley onsite, has partnered with Grant Tandy from the Sunriver Observatory to offer public tours. The addition features a 16-inch reflecting telescope and a smaller refractory one.

“The goal is to raise scientific literacy and educate visitors about big and unwieldy concepts like space, size, time, distance and speed in our solar system and beyond,” according to Worthy’s website.

“Our Garden Club marries heaven and earth,” said Worthington. “Our mission is to promote planet earth.” He hopes to give visitors a new perspective on the cosmos and a new appreciation for our home. “It’s ridiculous to think that we can populate another planet ... it’s not a good use of our resources.

“I reach 1,200-1,400 people a day here in the summer,” said Worthington. “Why not have them look up — look through a telescope at the sky — have them view the stars and planets and suns and moons and all the magic up there and get some perspective on our home here?”

Currently, tours are offered at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays. Online reservations are recommended since space is limited to 20 people. The $5 fee goes to Worthy Garden Club’s education programs. Observatory manager Tandy is on hand for open viewings without registration 9-11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

The sunny, light-filled banquet room, newly opened at Worthy Brewing on Bend’s east side, is called the Hop Mahal.

Scheduled tours begin in the appropriately named Transporter Room, situated between the Beermuda Triangle bar and the Hop Mahal banquet room. This space features mosaic tiles on the floor depicting celestial wonders, and the colorful curved walls of Venetian plaster represent the center of the Earth rising to the stars. Several TV monitors play educational videos about astronomy.

From here, a guide leads visitors up the adjacent spiral staircase that winds around the observatory that will eventually be covered with hops. On the second floor, guests pass the new Star Bar, which opened June 6 for customers 21 and older.

The next stop is the control room: a dark, quiet, cool area that feels like a library. Here guests watch a video by Jerry Niehuser from the Sunriver Observatory that helps put the light year distance from Earth to assorted planets in a relatable context. Niehuser talks about how long it would take an email to get to us here from Mars and other planets, which would be as long as 500 years in some cases.

After another hike up the spiral staircase, the guide opens the door to the dome and telescopes. On the night I went, two students at Central Oregon Community College led the session, showing us a star cluster, Saturn and a nebulae. After everyone had a turn looking through the telescopes, the group went outside to view constellations. Despite some surrounding light from nearby buildings and a light cloud cover, we clearly spotted several with the aid of the guides.

“We’re able to see things here that you can’t at Sunriver, even though they have more telescopes and more powerful ones,” said Worthington.

The Hopservatory is also available for private tours and as an add-on for large parties. If they sky is overcast on your scheduled date, the Worthy Garden Club offers “cloudchecks” to be used on a better viewing night. Ultimately, Worthington hopes people will come not only for a beer, but also for enlightenment.

“We’re all in this Earth lifeboat together. We can choose to work together and fix it,” said Worthington.

Worthy Brewing, already a large space, is expanding by 7,500 square feet. The $3.5 million renovation includes an observatory/telescope, an open-air bar on a deck outside the second floor and a new banquet hall. Photos by Gail Oberst

By Gail OberstFor the Oregon Beer Growler

There are lakes with landlocked salmon (they can’t get away!). There are huge fields of volcanic basalt and obsidian to explore. There are rivers that flow right through the middle of cities. There are unique Old West towns with horse rails. Best of all, any day/week/month in Central Oregon could include a visit to more than two dozen local breweries, many of which are expanding. Here’s an update on what’s happening in Central Oregon’s beer world this summer:

To the Sky and BeyondRoger Worthington, Worthy Brewing’s owner, is watching his part of the universe expand — by 7,500 square feet, to be precise. The brewery and restaurant campus on the east side of Bend is growing to include a three-story observatory, topped off with a telescope that will connect the earthbound to the skies. The observatory is a silo-like structure rising at the edge of the brewery’s new covered outside patio on the ground floor. An open-air bar on a deck outside the second floor is also under construction and due for completion this summer.

Worthy Brewing’s expansion adds seating for at least 100 more patrons on the 2,400 square foot deck, according to Seth E. Anderson, architect at Ascent Architecture & Interiors. Details include custom furniture, lighting, circular staircases and unique bi-fold garage doors. A new banquet hall will also be a part of the $3.5 million renovation.

While not yet open to the public, Monkless Belgian Ales has moved to the space that housed 10 Barrel’s original shop. Pictured here are Robin and Todd Clement, who is owner and head brewer.

​Monkless on the MoveMonkless Belgian Ales has moved their former 1-barrel, garage-based operation to a lucky space in Bend’s Northeast business district. The new location is not open to the public yet, but the building on High Desert Lane was once the home of 10 Barrel Brewing’s original shop. Chris and Jeremy Cox, former owners of 10 Barrel before it sold to Anheuser-Busch InBev last year, still own the building and have leased it to Monkless.

Monkless’ owner and head brewer Todd Clement, an organic chemist who graduated from University of California, Davis, spent the first 18 years of his post-college career missing his obvious connection to brewing, working instead in the pharmaceutical industry and then for a software company. His travels took him to Belgium, and his work brought him to Bend. “I grew to love Belgians,” he said. Clement started the brewery in 2014 with his friend Kirk Meckem, but recently purchased Meckem’s interest in the company. With a 10-barrel brew house in place, Clement in April gave up his full-time job and is now focusing on getting the expanded brewery online.

Steve Anderson is seen here next to his 2-barrel system tucked into an 800-square-foot building next to his home. Kobold Brewing is not open to the public, but you can find Anderson’s beers at a growing number of Central Oregon locations.

​Kobold Sells to More OutletsHow do you turn a quaint, Craftsman-style home in a quiet neighborhood into a quaint, craft-style brewery? Ask Steve Anderson of Bend’s Kobold Brewing. His 2-barrel system is tucked into an 800-square-foot building that looks like it came with his historic house, but was actually designed specifically for its purpose. Above the tight brewery is a second-story sales room with a small, sunny deck that looks like the perfect place for a cold beer on a hot day.

The shiny, new 2-barrel brewery is not open the public, but Kobold beers are on tap in the region. Anderson, a retired air traffic controller, originally got his college degree in architecture. He used those latent skills to design his brewery.